Meditations upon the insanity and occasional accidental beauty of everyday life.

28.12.12

The land that tidying up forgot

Every time I visit MIL's house I go through the same experiencial process. The first day I fall in love all over again with this home's unpretentious shabby comfort. This is a country home dating back to 1300 (in the cellar anyway) which is the epicentre of a large extended family and busy working property.

This place is busting with aretefacts and detritus gathered from a life lived in full. Nothing here is arranged or designed to look like anything in particular, it has just evolved. Which must surely be the secret to a truly interesting and rich interior.

But by day three, something starts to shift. And then all of the sudden I feel overwhelmed with a compulsion to get a large proverbial broom and give it all a good a good clear out. I'm itching to get stuck in and apply a thorough flossing. For this is a house where 'putting things away', the household chore that seems to dominate my daily duties, just does not happen. Being here is a like living in the home of the alter ego me that would really rather put my feet up with a book rather scuttle around picking up everybody's elses crap until 11pm every night. Why bother? Just go to bed! If only I could. Sadly the need to get up and give those surfaces a good clear and scrub would probably keep me awake at night.

5 comments:

Oh this post made me laugh!! I wish I had your tidyness gene - both my parents are messy so I think I was doomed from the start...unfortunately in order to put things away those things need to have a home to be put in...I think that's where messy people like me and your MIL go wrong! I must say my house isn't that bad but then I have small children and I need to be able to find their clothes and toys...and them!

My MIL is the opposite, always cleaning. Always clearing clutter... Its unnerving sometimes when we visit. I like my house tidy but that's only because I can't think straight if its not... Not sure it'd keep me up?? I'd die with no sleep That's a new one ;)

My other half has the tidy gene. I have a synthetic one which I can turn on and off at will. Your MIL probably put everyone else's stuff away for years and now she only has her own crappola to enjoy leaving around. All the putting away here is usually other people's stuff.